


Craved

by quixhaotic



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Angst, Drama & Romance, Engagement, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Humor, Getting to Know Each Other, JunHao-centric, M/M, Mafia AU, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2020-05-13 21:19:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19259380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quixhaotic/pseuds/quixhaotic
Summary: Two lives brought together by a twisted circumstance. That's it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this question on curious cat:
> 
> idk if this is a prompt but can you write a story ummm where jun and minghao actually have feelings for each other just the both of them are too coward to admit/confess?😂 until one day where minghao was forced to marry someone else, no limits to the gender of course!, by his parents and that is when the story begins? HHHHH but still junhao will eventually end up together like after all those hardships~~ we dont want sad ending, right!?😂 i will submit another prompt if I have a better idea🤣🤣 thank you! i really enjoy reading your fics❤ hope you have a nice day :D
> 
> -I did not completely follow the plot since I already had mine right from the start, but rest assured that anon's suggestions for the course of the story will be added in the next chapters. I know I still have other ongoing AUs but with all honesty I was feeling restless with this story just resting in my drafts section. I hope you guys understand.
> 
> I know I may have already said this a lot of times but I'll try my best to update my other AUs soon. I have just recently started my freshmen year in college and luckily there are some vacant hours in my weekly schedule so hopefully I could write updates fast (piss off writer's block).
> 
> As you all know, I love reading your insights and reactions in the comment section so please leave some after reading so I could know what you guys think about this fic and if ever you have recommendations for improvement. And if you'd like you could also cheek out my twitter accounts @incorrectjunhao and @kiraraluuu if you wanna interact with me or something :))
> 
> Also, to the anon who gave me this prompt, thank you so much for the suggestion and for entrusting me with this plot. I hope my writing style could at least meet your standards. :))
> 
> That's all for now, have a good day! :D

“What?” That was the last thing he remembered before white noise took over his senses. The next thing he knew was that his mother was assisting him to sit on the couch while looming over him with a worried expression on her face, his brother Seungkwan yelling something at their father, though he didn’t understand a thing.

The stun disappeared when he saw Seungkwan almost literally flying across the room and body colliding harshly against the wall, making his protective instincts kick in. Before their father could hit the youngest in the room the second time Junhui planted himself firmly between two, effectively stopping the man from giving out another harsh blow at his sibling.

“Please stop.” He begged; a bit surprised that he still had his voice after their parents brought in the horrible news.

“No! This is fucking unfair!” Seungkwan struggled behind him but Junhui tried his best to keep him in his place. Though he agrees with his brother he can’t really risk their safeties right now. Their father’s wrath is not something they or anyone else for the matter should take lightly.

“How could you do this dad!? Selling your own son off to some bastard!” Seungkwan screeched, and this time Junhui blocked the right hook aimed for his brother’s face with his own, sending him pathetically to the floor. He heard Seungkwan scream for his name before everything started spinning.  He rmembers lifting his hand to cradle his left cheek, everyone fussing around him, the sounds of their worried voices appearing muffled and somewhat distant to his ears before he lost consciousness.

When he wakes up he’s already on his own bed, the stinging pain in his cheek demanding to be felt, and it was already morning. With a groan he forces himself to sit up while recalling last night’s occurrences. With a sigh he looks down at his own hands fisting the sheets. He blinks in mild surprise when the first few drops of his tears land on his hands, but he does nothing to wipe them away.

It was at that moment that his younger brother Seungkwan enters the room holding a tray with his breakfast and almost drops it when he sees Junhui crying. He sits next to his brother and guides the older male to lean against his shoulder. Junhui cries silently, inhaling Seungkwan’s comforting scent and taking whatever little comfort his younger brother can give. Don’t get him wrong, he loves Seungkwan so much and he’s always been Junhui’s personal ray of sunshine, but even the younger male cannot singlehandedly diminish the problem he’s currently facing: getting married to someone he doesn’t know.

He heard about it, how ridiculously rich people such as their parents give off their children to the sons or daughters of their equally ridiculously rich friends, how they are practically obliged to marry for the sake of strengthening business partnerships and _other_ ties. He saw it coming, but he thought their eldest brother Jeonghan would be the first victim. But then again, Junhui thought, they wouldn’t want to disappoint and embarrass the whole family with Jeonghan being reckless, free-spirited and all, and among the three of them he’s the best candidate who perfectly fits the description of well-mannered, proper, and disciplined. Seungkwan’s still too young to be wed off, and he’s not far from Jeonghan in terms of personality either. It has to be Junhui.

He continues to cry silently in Seungkwan’s arms, already picturing out the possible scenarios when his parents finally give him off to someone he doesn’t know.

He’s not as naïve as everyone else around him thinks he is. He knows his parents sold more than just expensive and high-class tobacco to get to where they are now, knows that they gambled so much more for fame, fortune and glory. He also knows majority of their business partners also engage in this mysterious and illegal lifestyle, so when their father told him that he’s gonna be wed off to his friend’s son, he almost immediately knew there was no turning back and that he was doomed. The glint in his father’s eyes last night told him that there was more to this than just him saying the vows with some stranger.

“I’ll get you out of this.” His train of thoughts was interrupted when Seungkwan suddenly spoke. He looks up to his younger brother and sees the look of determination blazing in his eyes.

“There’s not much you can do about it, Kwannie.” He answers, short and honest and sad. Seungkwan rapidly shakes his head, composure wavering and his cheeks red with fury.

“I can’t just let them do this to you, hyung!” He hisses, grabbing Junhui by his shoulders and forcibly facing him.

“They’re selling you off. _Selling you off!_ Do you not understand that? They’re giving you off to someone none of us knows in exchange for money! That’s like, absolute bullshit hyung! And what if the man you’ll be marrying is someone old and perverted, if not brutal or addicted to drugs? In our world, the possibilities are endless, hyung! I can’t have you risking your own safety just to please mom and dad!” Seungkwan was close to crying, Junhui could tell. He shakes when he cries, and now his hands are shaking as he grips Junhui in place. They’re both aware of how Seungkwan has a point despite his argument made out of mixed emotions, they both know it’s true that this is as close to Junhui committing something suicidal, they both know the possibilities are endless because they still don’t know who Junhui is going to marry. But the real question is,

“What are we gonna do then, Kwannie?” And just like that, Junhui lets the fact that they’re basically powerless over their parents and everything else sink in. Seungkwan stammers, and Junhui knows he has nothing else to offer to help Junhui out of the mess his father has thrown him into.

He smiles bitterly at his younger brother and lies down on the bed, closing his eyes and hoping for sleep to take him soon. It doesn’t, and he could hear Seungkwan trying hard to muffle his own sobs as he caresses Junhui’s hair softly. It breaks his heart but he doesn’t comment about it. Besides, it’s better that he’s the one being thrown into this situation than any of his beloved brothers.

***

“Marriage?” The words rings heavily against the silence. A glass clinks when placed against the table, and they all look at the person who caused the sound.

“Oops.” Wonwoo shrugs, an uninterested look on his face as he grabs the bottle of wine and refills his glass for what seemed like the fourth time already. So far, he’s the only one who seems _actually calm_ about all of this, everyone else is just good at hiding how tense they were.

Silence followed and they all turned to look at the person sitting comfortably on the couch looking a lot like a very entitled prince. Wonwoo snorts when the thought crosses his mind and everybody looks at him again, this time with slightly annoyed expressions. He just rolls his eyes at them and continues to observe his older brother who’s leaning against the couch almost too dramatically as if he’s having his own photo shoot. He suddenly has this urge to be playful and pour his wine all over the bastard just for some fun, but his mother might just cut off his fingers if he does that to his hyung so he chooses to behave instead. Needless to say, he’s bored.

“Who am I marrying?” Minghao asks after thirty seconds of silence has passed. His father grunts in his seat and adjusts his posture and tie, an old habit he usually does when he’s about to get into serious business.

“Wen Junhui.”

“An heir of Wen Tobacco?” Wonwoo asks, and his father glares at him because he clearly spoke out of turn.

“Second son of Wen senior—“

“Hah! Gayyy~” Wonwoo barely dodges the dagger thrown at his direction. The sharp weapon digs against the wooden wall behind him making a soft thudding sound, and everybody falls silent as their father once again adjusts his posture in his seat. The old man clears his throat and this time, he directs his full attention to Wonwoo.

“Speak out of turn one more time and the next thing you’ll be trying to dodge will be a bullet.” The old man threatens and Wonwoo scoffs in defiance. Of course he couldn’t dodge a bullet so he doesn’t say anything anymore. The old man can be quite serious when it comes to making threats and even though Wonwoo is his own son they all know better than to underestimate him. Blood relations won’t matter to Xu senior when he’s totally pissed off, everyone knows that.

“As I said, he is the second son of Wen senior. He’s nineteen years old and many people call him Moon, and he’s like the crown jewel of the Wen mafia.” Minghao nods in understanding. It’s not the first time he has heard about this, since he has a habit of sticking his nose into his father’s business, not that the old man needs to know. He knows he’s gonna take over their mafia soon as he is the eldest son, so he must learn whatever he can in order not to make a fool out of himself when the _crown_ is passed down to him. He’s done his research in secret, though the details he has about this matter they’re currently discussing are just the tip of the iceberg.

Moon, Minghao has heard the nickname a couple of times before. According to his gathered intel, Wen Junhui is the second son of Wen senior and apparently his favorite, and that he was nicknamed Moon because he’s as beautiful and radiant as the real thing. It is rumored that Moon is known for his looks that rivaled even the loveliest of women, and Minghao rolls his eyes at that because this isn’t some fucking fairytale where character descriptions tend to go overboard. He’s laid his eyes on a lot of really gorgeous men and women before, so the exaggeration kind of annoys him. To him not much is special about having a pretty face.

He doesn’t have a clue about what Moon looks like, since Wen senior is said to be very protective of the second son and doesn’t allow just anyone to meet him. He’s always kept behind closed doors and protected by tons of security just like a real jewel in a fucking museum, and he’s too hidden from the world that some even begin to doubt if he’s real or not. So basically that’s all Minghao knows about his _now fiancé_ , which isn’t much if you’d ask him. _They’re just a bunch of exaggerated hearsays_ , he thinks to himself.

“When am I meeting him?” He asks after organizing his thoughts a bit. Sure, everything happened too fast for him and everyone else, and he’s still 25, objectively too young to be thinking about and going through marriage. But _whatever_. It’s not like he’s currently dating anyone or anything to refuse the proposal, he’s a single and powerful bisexual mafia heir who is about to inherit his father’s empire in five years.

Minghao understands his father’s intentions. Fixed marriages are not entirely new in their world. It’s an option taken when families want to strengthen ties among each other and expand their businesses and whatnot. Minghao knows the drill, and he’s fine about it. After all, he’s being promised a glorious throne and a pretty face to marry, so there’s really not much to complain and be bitter about. And if the marriage doesn’t go well there’s always options like divorce or annulment, or he could just put a bullet in the guy’s head and call it a day. Minghao likes to deal with things simply, and it was worked well for him most of the time.

“In two days. We have been invited to dinner at the Wen household.” His father answers, a pleased look on his face when he sees no hesitation or defiance in Minghao’s eyes and actions. He stands up and pats Minghao on the shoulder, his fingers squeezing Minghao’s skin in a sort of unpleasant way. But whatever displeasure Minghao is currently feeling, he hides it with a blank expression.

“Okay.” Minghao says nonchalantly. Their parents leave the living room with satisfaction in their faces because Minghao didn’t put up much of a fight unlike what they have expected and when silence takes over, Wonwoo laughs out loud next to him and starts humming a wedding song while swaying around the living room like the taunting menace that he is.

When Wonwoo finally waltzes his way out of the room, it was only then that Minghao pinches his nose bridge and lets out a long sigh.

“What the fuck.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you sure about this, hyung?” Seungkwan asks for what seemed like the fifteenth time already. Don’t get Junhui wrong, he loves his youngest brother dearly, but right now he just wants to whack Seungkwan’s forhead with the hair brush he’s holding. But instead of doing that he gives their youngest a very strained smile, and Seungkwan groans while dropping the blankets he had tied together about an hour ago.

If ever Junhui wants to back out on this dinner meeting, Seungkwan has already planned his hyung’s escape. He had tied at least thirteen blankets together as a makeshift rope to be tied on Junhui’s bed post and draped outside the window so Junhui could use it to climb down and escape. He has one of his trusted friends Seokmin(another heir of a smaller mafia organization and one of their childhood friends) waiting outside the fences of the Wen household with a vehicle they could use to smuggle Junhui out of the city.

Junhui had greatly appreciated the effort his younger brother and his friend have exerted in hopes of helping him, but he has forced himself not to get involved with their plans. Their father would surely find out and while he may be able to get away with it because he’s the favorite son, he’s not quite sure if Seungkwan and Seokmin will not suffer some dire consequences.

He endures Seungkwan’s sharp glare directed at him and pretends to be busy with fixing his hair and putting on some diamond-studded bracelets on his wrists and ears in an effort to look pretty (even though he’s already stunning without having to try).

“This is suicide hyung, you hear me? Suicide.” Seungkwan flails drastically in Junhui’s bed, wrinkling the suit their maids had carefully ironed for him for this ‘special’ occasion. Junhui would usually reprimand him for such careless actions, but right now he’s too nervous and caught up in his own train of thoughts to concern himself with Seungkwan ruining his own suit.

“It’s not that bad.” Junhui smiles at his younger brother through their reflections in the vanity mirror, but Seungkwan just gives him the poker face.

“I’m getting married, not getting sent off to the Bermuda Triangle.” Junhui jokes, but Seungkwan wouldn’t budge from his poker face. He sighs and turns his chair to face their youngest brother, a small and awkward smile on his lips.

“I’ll be fine, Kwannie. It’s better that I’m the one going through all this than you.” Seungkwan looks away, and Junhui could clearly see the tears threatening to fall from the youngest male’s eyes. Junhui sighs. None of them ever wanted this, but it’s not like they have an option out of it. For the past two days Junhui has learned that he’s going to be wed off to the heir of the Xu mafia, currently known as the third most powerful, influential and dangerous mafia organization in Asia. They operate illegally on a global scale, unlike the Wen mafia whose ties are only limited to its neighboring countries in Asia.

Long story short, the Xu mafia is a force that should _never_ be underestimated, and Junhui knows that if he backs out now his whole family would suffer the consequences. He’s heard some of their guards talk about it over morning coffee when he once snuck out early morning to get his own glass of warm milk. Xu senior, as Junhui have learned, is a very dangerous man who could possibly order a mass murder without batting an eyelash. He has connections almost _everywhere_ and most mafias and gangs operate under him, kind of making him a king of a very enormous underground empire. He has two sons whose names Junhui has yet to discover, and he’s also learned that they’re regarded as The Prince and The Devil respectively. The nicknames kinda sound weird and overly dramatic if you’d ask Junhui but who is he to judge and complain when he’s literally being nicknamed Moon by the people around him. Junhui just hopes and prays that The Prince is his fiancé because if he were to be honest, The Devil sounds scary as hell and he knows the person who owns the nickname must’ve earned it through his devilish acts or whatever. So yeah, The Prince is definitely better than The Devil if you ask him.

Junhui’s train of thoughts was cut short when his bedroom door literally burst open and in came a very furious looking Jeonghan running his fingers through his seemingly perfect blonde hair.

“What is this I’m hearing about Junhui suddenly getting married, huh!?” The eldest asks and glares at Junhui, obviously demanding an explanation. Junhui, due to shock because of Jeonghan’s unannounced entrance, begins to stammer out explanations.

Jeonghan has been out of the country when their father announced that Junhui is getting married. He was in Paris having a week-long vacation with one of his boyfriends Choi Seungcheol (he has two boyfriends and I’m guessing y’all already know who the other one is mehehehe~) and by the looks of him it seems like he just got back from his vacation about a few minutes ago and immediately went back to their mansion instead of his own penthouse in Busan. He plops himself on Junhui’s bed and glares at his second brother who uncomfortably shifts in his seat under Jeonghan’s scrutinizing gaze.

Seungkwan helped Junhui explain everything to their eldest brother, but not without exaggerating some details and making everything sound worse than it already is. When Junhui scolds him for it the youngest of the three just holds up a finger against his mouth, effectively shutting him up.

“WHAT!?” Jeonghan screeches and Junhui swears the older male’s voice could be heard all over the mansion so he rushes towards his door and closes it.

“And you, you dumbass, just said yes!?” Jeonghan hisses at him and Junhui immediately ducks when the eldest throws a pillow at his direction.

“But hyung, if I didn’t agree—“

“I know the consequences Junhui! Trust me, I’ve been through the same situation before! Didn’t you come up with any excuse at all to save your own ass? Hell, you let them have you just like that!” Jeonghan stands up and approaches his visibly anxious brother. He holds Junhui by his shoulders and makes the younger male look at him in the eyes. Jeonghan sighs when he sees how distressed Junhui currently is.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry for lashing out. Stop worrying you Junnie, hyung will try to fix this okay?” Junhui’s eyes widened at the proclamation and he almost shoves Jeonghan away from the door when the older male starts walking towards it.

“You’re not gonna talk to dad about this, are you?” Junhui asks, and when he looks at Jeonghan’s eyes he got his answer. He stands firmly between his brother and the door, and if he’ll have to bite Jeonghan to stop him then he’ll do it.

Jeonghan, apparently, is their father’s least favorite son. Wild and free-spirited, he’s a force their father could barely tame. He has his own rules and beliefs, and he doesn’t let anyone stop him from whatever he wants to do with his life. Junhui once admired this side of Jeonghan, but now he just fears it. Jeonghan’s defiant personality has brought him nothing but danger and their father’s wrath in Junhui’s opinion.

He could still remember how their father once threw a very large vase at Jeonghan when he was eighteen, the wound leaving a scar on the older male’s neck that never faded. It was when Jeonghan introduced Seungcheol to their father as his boyfriend, and Junhui swears he’s never seen the old man so mad before. He would like to avoid that happening the second time as much as possible.

“Step aside, kid.” Jeonghan is seething, and Junhui flinches. Jeonghan only calls him ‘kid’ when he’s beyond mad.

“No.” He insists, even if the way his hyung is looking at him gives him goose bumps.

Jeonghan doesn’t argue further and instead effortlessly pushes Junhui aside and opens the door. Jeonghan has always been stronger, fiercer, and right now Junhui hates himself for being too weak to protect Jeonghan from their father and himself.

He immediately follows the older male while calling out for his name. Jeonghan took long and quick strides on his way downstairs to their father’s office, and Junhui keeps yelling at him to stop but he just won’t listen. He could hear Seungkwan following them closely behind, calling out for both of them in a rather exasperated tone. They pass by several household staff who pointedly ignored them, thinking it was just another pointless little banter among the siblings.

When they were nearing his father’s office Junhui had started running after Jeonghan but he was a few seconds too late. Jeonghan had already kicked the door open and started yelling profanities at the old man sitting behind his desk.

“You fucking dirty bastard—“ Before Jeonghan could even finish what he was saying, Junhui saw a man tackle his older brother to the floor, pushing his face against the hard surface until he’s grunting helplessly, flailing his limbs uselessly while demanding to be released.

“Who’s this?” The man who tackled Jeonghan asks as he traces a finger against Jeonghan’s jaw as if studying his facial structure. Junhui panics at that and decides to make his presence acknowledged by the several men inside his father’s office.

“Let him go!”

***

Minghao stops midway on introducing himself to Wen senior when the door behind him suddenly swings open with force and in comes a very good-looking blonde man with a very unpleasant scowl on his face.

“You fucking dirty bastard—“ Before Minghao could even stop him, Wonwoo has already tackled the man on the floor, mildly startling everyone in the room due to his rather impulsive actions. He shakes his head, rather disappointed and embarrassed at his sibling for being so careless, as if he’s unaware of the seriousness and importance of this particular meet-up.

“Who’s this?” Wonwoo asks to no one in particular, licking his own lips as he traces a finger on the man’s jaw. Minghao holds back the urge to slap his own forehead. They really shouldn’t have brought Wonwoo along in this important gathering.

With a quiet groan he was about to take a step forward and collect his brother when somebody suddenly shouts from behind him.

“Let him go!”

Minghao had felt rather than see the presence of the newcomer as he dashed towards the spot where his brother had the blonde man pinned to the floor. He grunts as he tries to remove Wonwoo’s grip on the blonde guy. And maybe Wonwoo took pity on him because he just shrugged and backed away, a small smile curving his lips.

Minghao squints his eyes. Now that’s not a look he sees on his brother often, and he’s suddenly curious about who the newcomer is. He couldn’t see the guys face though as his back was facing him—

“What are you two doing here?!” Wen Senior’s voice booms against the silence, and the two guys in question immediately flinch in fear as if it was a programmed response to the old man’s voice.

“I—“ the blonde starts but then all of a sudden another person makes an entrance and stands his ground in front of the two males. Minghao had the urge to roll his eyes because exactly what type of shit is going on right now?

“It’s not their fault father! We were just passing by—“ At the boy’s words Minghao ears perk with interest.

These three lads in front of him must be Wen Senior’s sons. He immediately takes a guess that the blonde guy was Wen Junhui.

“You are interrupting a very important gathering!”

“I wanna meet him dad!” The person holding down the blonde guy suddenly exclaims, interrupting the old man.

***

“What?” Seungkwan turns around and gawks at Junhui who only looks at their father with a determined expression.

“What?” Jeonghan mirrors his question, looking at his second brother as if he just sprouted two more arms.

“I mean, I wanted to meet….my fiancé.” Junhui lowers his head and bites the insides of his cheeks. He just hopes their father would take the bait and let them off this time, he couldn’t stand seeing one of his siblings being punished later.

“I’m sorry we barged in without any notice. It was very disrespectful on our part.” He bows full ninety degrees and hears his siblings gasp. He could feel Jeonghan pulling the hem of his shirt and hissing at him for suddenly being so polite to a man who doesn’t even deserve to be called a father.

A few beats of silence followed before Wen Senior orders Junhui to rise. He does as he was told and looks at the old man straight in the eyes. Wen Senior had his default poker expression on, but there was something in his eyes that made Junhui feel discomfort from where he stood.

“Jeonghan and Seungkwan, follow your mother outside. You stay, Junhui. I would like you to meet someone.” His siblings were about to protest once again but Junhui gave them a pleading look that effectively shut him up. As much as he appreciates his siblings standing up for him, he just couldn’t stand the thought that they could possibly hurt themselves in the process of protecting him.

With a defeated sigh the two boys follow after their mother who gives Junhui a reassuring pat on the shoulder that wasn’t reassuring at all if Junhui were to be really honest with himself. When he hears the door behind him close, he visibly flinches, fully aware that at the moment he’s like a little lamb trapped inside a confinement with several dangerous predators whose eyes are on him. He could feel their gazes boring holes into his body, and the thought of it makes him feel sick.

“Son,” Junhui immediately looks up to his father when the old man addresses him, and he almost gasps audibly when the old man gave him a very gentle smile. Junhui doesn’t know if it’s genuine or just for show, but what he knows is that he’s not really sure how he should feel about it.

“I would like you to meet your fiancé, Xu Minghao.” The old man lifts his hand and gestures to the group of men  that Junhui knows are standing a good five feet behind him. Hesitantly, he turns around, and the first thing he sees are a pair of dark orbs staring right back at him as if they could see his soul.

“Hello, Moon.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After several months without updating, I present to you a very lame new chapter!😀😀

Junhui avoids eye contact. He tries to look as if he's staring right back at Minghao's eyes, but he's honestly just focusing his sights on the barely noticeable crease between the other male's brows.  
   
He clenches his fists behind his back and does his best to appear as calm and collected as possible despite his inner self being un complete disarray. He misses the rest of his father's introduction and extra remarks because of that, as well as his cue to shake the hand of his _fiancé_.  
   
   
Everyone watches as Minghao retracts his outstretched hand, the gesture filling the doom with very awkward silence. Junhui blinks twice, looks around and sees his father looking at him with that look of barely contained anger and disappointment that he knows all too well. The man usually wears that look whenever his brother Jeonghan does anything slightly unpleasant during their recently rare family gatherings, and it's on very few occasions that Wen Senior looks at Junhui with _that_ look. Of course, he panics.  
   
“I-I'm sorry—”  
   
“It's fine.” Everybody's attention is now directed at Minghao who appears so unbothered with this whole ordeal compared to the rest of the people inside Wen Senior's office. He adjusts his suit unnecessarily and rolls his shoulders back a bit like he's trying to relax his posture. He gives Junhui a quick glance before looking at Wen Senior.  
   
“This is a lot to take in. I understand that.” Minghao gives him a small nod of understanding, and Junhui's father accepts his reason just like that. Silence stretches out a bit more before Wen Senior unhelpfully decides that Minghao and Junhui should be given time to themselves so they could ‘get to know each other’. Junhui would complain of only he could, but aside from being afraid of the consequences, he's never seen his father this _pleased and excited_ about something in a while. Now that's telling a lot.  
   
 _Endure it_ , he tells himself. _You're doing this for everyone's sake._  
   
“Can I stay?” The person standing next to Minghao suddenly asks just when they were about to leave the pair inside the room to interact for the very first time and hopefully…develop some sort of bond.  
   
“Wonwoo,” Minghao tries to glare at his brother discreetly. Now’s not really the time for the other male to interrupt and ruin the atmosphere of mutual respect that they have carefully established among each other by being an immature brat. Minghao knows that the relationship the Xus have with the Wens is still in a fragile state, especially with this newly formed bond they now share.  
   
“What? I just—okay fine.” Wonwoo rolls his eyes when he feels his father grip his arm rather harshly, the action unnoticed by the others. He walks ahead with a huff like a child about to throw a tantrum, followed by a couple of their personal bodyguards that seemed like they're just there to keep Wonwoo's behavior in check. Wen Senior gives Minghao and Junhui one last look before closing the door behind him with a quiet click.  
   
As soon as the sound of footsteps and voices fade completely, Junhui lets out a shaky breath he didn't realize he was holding back. Of course, the feeling of relief was short-lived because he then remembers that he's not alone in his father's office.  
   
Minghao meets his eyes as soon as he lifts his gaze to look at the older male. Junhui unconsciously clenches his fists and bites his tongue, his mind telling him _that's your fiancé right there_ as if that changes things a whole damn lot. He blinks once and looks around the room awkwardly for a bit before he decides to bow at the other male and greet him with a quiet ‘hello’. The response he gets is a small nod, and his mind screams _what now_ at him as anxiety slowly starts to bubble in his chest.  
   
“You're tense,” Junhui almost gasps when Minghao suddenly speaks, and he immediately backs up against the wall behind him when the other male starts to approach him. Minghao looks at him quizzically like he's the weirdest thing to ever walk this earth, and Junhui stares back at him with wide alert eyes. His expression reminds Minghao of a startled cat and he finds it quite amusing, but he doesn't voice out his thoughts since he deems things still _too early_ for that.  
   
“Do I scare you?” Junhui gulps audibly. He doesn't know what to say to that. He could be honest and say yes, but he doesn't know how the other male would react. Same goes with saying no, so he just stares back at Minghao with the same wide eyes that almost seemed comical if only he wasn't dealing with one of the most awkward and tense moments in his entire life.  
   
When Minghao doesn't get his response, he lowers his gaze to their feet, approximately two inches from touching. He knows he's invading Junhui's personal space causing the other male to feel and look uneasy, but he decides against the thought of backing away. A Xu never backs down from anything, he reminds himself, though the quote technically doesn't apply to his current situation.  
   
Junhui's eyes immediately land on Minghao's hand as he lifts it to get something from his pocket. His heart rate uncontrollably picks up while his mind comes up with creative assumptions of what Minghao's going to do. And it might sound stupid, but for a second he thought Minghao was gonna pull put a knife and slit his throat. So no one can blame him for sighing out of relief when Minghao shows him a small black velvet box with a very beautiful and expensive-looking diamond ring inside.  
   
“To make things official,” Minghao says just for the heck of it, smoothly slipping the jewelry on Junhui's ring finger that the other male held out to him shakily and hesitantly. They both stare at the ring now encircling Junhui's skin, the silence too loud and Junhui's trembling too noticeable to ignore. Minghao runs his thumb over his fiancé's skin, but instead of soothing him like he intended the other male goes stiff by the gesture so he decides to drop his hand back to his side instead.  
   
“I haven't really—I haven't thought about giving you a ring as well.” Junhui admits quietly while keeping his head low. He looks away from the ring on his finger, looking like it's mocking the hell out of him. It fits him perfectly, and he doesn't know how to feel or think about that. It's also cold to the touch, a physical reminder that he got himself into this situation and that even though they haven't said their vows yet, there's clearly no turning back or running away from all of this.  
   
“Don't worry about it.” Minghao answers, his voice low and calm. Junhui nods his thanks for the other male's understanding. Minghao's definitely right. This is quite a lot to take in, and he's really glad he's not being thoroughly pressured to act as if this is all so wonderful and appealing to him. He's already emotionally exhausted as everything currently is, and he doesn't know how much longer he could pretend like everything's peachy for him before he snaps.  
   
“I'm Xu Minghao.” Minghao holds out his hand to Junhui for the second time today, and this time Junhui takes it. His hand is warm, Junhui notes, and holding it gives him a feeling of slight comfort which he deems is a good thing. It's too early to conclude things, but maybe Minghao isn't so bad as compared to what he's heard about the man. Maybe this whole marriage thing will turn out alright. Maybe they'd get along. Junhui immediately detaches himself from that train of thought. _You just held his hand for a few seconds and you're already thinking of him as a good guy_ , his mind tries to knock some sense into him.  
   
“I'm Wen Junhui. But you can call me—”  
   
“Moon.” Minghao interrupts, and Junhui is taken aback. He was about to say _Junnie_ , and he's glad that he didn't. He mentally scolds himself for loosening up to Minghao just like that in less than an hour of meeting the guy. It's a good thing Minghao reminds him of which grounds they're currently standing at through calling him by the nickname he got from his father's people. _Moon_ , because he's as beautiful and radiant as the real thing. _Moon_ , because they don't know the real him. _Moon_ , some sort of distinguishing factor between the Junhui everyone else knows and the real Junhui.  
   
“Yeah, Moon.” Junhui nods timidly and curls his fingers in the hem of his shirt.  
   
“Call me Hao, then.” Minghao's trying. Believe him, he is. He's trying to make Junhui feel at least a bit more comfortable around his presence. It's not because he wants to, but because it's what's expected of them as soon as they step out of Wen Senior's office to join everyone else downstairs. He tries to be gentler and softer with the younger male, going out of his usual default attitude just to seem warm and welcoming to Junhui. But there's only so much Xu Minghao could do before he—  
   
“God, stop shaking for fuck’s sake.” Junhui gasps when Minghao suddenly grabs both of his hands and holds them with a very firm grip. When he looks at Minghao's face, his expression remains schooled into a neutral one, but his eyes hold some sort of glint in them like he's trying to stare Junhui down into submission.  
   
“Calm the fuck down, fuck.” Minghao immediately lets Junhui's hands go when he feels the other male tremble even more under his touch. He takes a step back and runs his fingers through his perfectly styled hair, suddenly feeling too pissed at his fiancé looking and feeling too distressed around his presence. He knew this was a fucking shitty idea. Junhui has fear in his eyes that seemed like it won't ever go away despite how gentle and kindly Minghao will treat him now and in the future. Their parents really thought they were being creative and cute, doing cupid’s work and pairing them up without their full consents—  
   
“I didn't ask for any of this.” Junhui suddenly speaks, mildly surprising Minghao. He lifts his gaze and their eyes meet, and Minghao was pretty sure that look of defiance wasn't there a few moments ago.  
   
“I didn't ask to be practically forced into marriage with some stranger who a lot of people say has the potential to make my life a living hell. I'm just doing this because I don't want any of my brothers to be thrown into the same situation. I'm scared, and I'm anxious, and I’m really _really_ miserable right now. So forgive me if it shows but I just can't help it. I didn't ask for any of this.” Junhui's voice breaks at the end of his little speech, and he looks away as he clears his throat and mutters a quiet ‘sorry’ which is kind of pointless because he already let the words fall out. He clenches his fists at his sides, willing himself to stop looking like such a damn coward in front of Minghao.  
   
He waits for an answer, but it never came. When he lifts his gaze to Minghao, the other male is just looking at him with that blank expression again. Junhui doesn't know how to feel about that. Should he feel disappointed that Minghao's not showing any particular reaction to his little outburst? Or should he be thankful instead that the other male hadn't been the least bit affected by it to save them both from the drama?  
   
A few more beats of silence follow before Minghao sighs and offers his right arm for Junhui to hold.  
   
“They must be waiting outside.” He says, and though he didn't say it out loud Junhui knows he's dismissing their previous conversation. Again, Junhui doesn't know how to feel about that.  
   
He grabs hold of Minghao’s arm, fingers lightly tracing the fabric of his coat. He fails to notice Minghao’s eyes on him the whole time they were making their way downstairs to meet the rest of their families in the living room, too lost in his own thoughts to acknowledge the way Minghao stared at him as he gave Xu Senior his sweetest smile when the old man greeted him happily as soon as they made their appearance.  
   
“Is this Junhui? My goodness,” Junhui was slightly startled when blood red painted nails enter his line of vision and cups the side of his face gently. He feels his head being tilted from side to side as a pair of sharp feline eyes examine the entirety of his face. Junhui knew in an instant that this is Minghao’s mother. There's no mistaking the similarity in their piercing gazes.  
   
“What a very _very_ lovely boy.” She coos in delight, smiling widely at Junhui with her equally blood red lips. Junhui couldn't find it in him to answer back with a smile of his own when he suddenly feels the woman's nail trace his jaw, stopping just under his chin to tilt his head up so he could look her in the eyes. Junhui's obviously much taller than her by a couple of inches, but the way she carries herself with so much authority makes him feel significantly smaller.  
   
“He and my son make a _wonderful_ pair.” Then she grins, eyes narrowing with a seemingly dangerous glint in them that makes Junhui tense up so badly that everyone in the room notices.  
   
“Mom,” The room turns quiet when Minghao lifts his left hand to grip at his mother's wrist, forcing her to lower her hand from where it's touching Junhui’s face. Nobody says anything for a few beats of silence before Mrs. Xu breaks it with a hearty laugh.  
   
“This is ridiculously adorable. Look at you,” she then looks at the new pair with another big grin, her eyes lingering a bit on Junhui’s left hand that was holding onto Minghao’s right arm. Junhui realizes a second later that she's eyeing the diamond ring on his finger. As if on instinct, he curls his fingers tighter on Minghao’s arm. The other male feels the change in pressure and gives him a side glance but keeps his mouth shut as if he's trying to be very careful with his actions.  
   
“ _Wonderful_ ,” Mrs. Xu articulates the word as if she means a lot more than just a simple praise before she makes her way back to her husband and sits next to him on the couch. A few more praises were given by their parents before Wen Senior tells them to take a seat on the other couch. The new couple quietly make their way towards it and take their seats wordlessly, and though Junhui's good at hiding it from his parents’ eyes, he's still feeling quite tense.  
   
Junhui immediately spots his brothers peeking from behind a wall, Jeonghan’s sharp eyes burning holes through Minghao’s skull and Seungkwan mouthing ‘are you okay’ at him. He gives his younger brother a tight-lipped smile and a very discreet nod then pointedly ignores them afterwards so he could pretend to be interested in their parents planning their wedding. The first few minutes made his head hurt, as he can't fully grasp the situation that he got himself into just yet. He's _really_ engaged and getting married at the young age of nineteen. Everything happened so fast and it's like he's the only one that cares about that part.  
   
Next to him, Minghao is quiet as well. He looks like he's okay with all of this, answering questions from time to time and giving out suggestions to show his cooperation and participation in this…partnership. He looks so calm and composed that Junhui is suddenly so tempted to ask him how he's so unbothered by this whole ordeal. They're getting married for crying out loud. They're basically strangers about to settle down and live with each other, and adding strengthening business and family ties in the picture makes everything sound much worse.  
   
***  
   
Dinner was…okay, to say the least. Everyone was acting their best and were civil amongst each other. Even Jeonghan refrained from giving snarky remarks at the conversations that flowed in the dining table that could possibly spark up unwanted arguments and end the night badly. But that didn't mean that it was any less draining both physically and emotionally for Junhui. Well, at leats it's all over now.  
   
Minghao bows at Junhui's parents while saying farewell. The man next to him, Minghao’s brother Wonwoo as Junhui recalls, simply gives them a casual waver and a lopsided grin before making his way to their car first. Mrs. Xu sighs at his other son’s behaviour but schools her expression into a happy one as she says her farewells to Junhui's parents as well.   
   
“Minghao, say goodbye to your fiancé.” Mrs. Xu urges her son with a nudge to his side, and Minghao doesn't give her a glance but approaches Junhui instead. Junhui immediately feels Jeonghan and Seungkwan’s presences behind him which comforts him a bit but doesn't do much to calm him when his gaze lifts up to Minghao's eyes.  
   
The whole evening has been long and eventful, and most of the time Junhui found himself being the center of attention of that piercing stare.  
   
“Goodbye, Moon.” Minghao says, loud enough for everyone to hear. Junhui answers with a bow because he doesn't trust his voice at the moment. He could already feel his father’s eyes on him due to the lack of a verbal response.  
   
Junhui's siblings gasp loudly at what Minghao does next: he takes Junhui's right hand in his own and places a gentle kiss on his knuckles, effectively stunning Junhui from where he stood. Everyone else except his siblings seemed quite pleased with Minghao's gesture; he could even hear both their mothers giggling at the side. Junhui would've reacted the same if only the context was a bit different and…let's say _normal_.  
   
Minghao gives him one last look before turning around to get in their car. His parents followed after giving the Wen family one last goodbye. They watch as the limousine leave their gate and engulf them in silence.  
   
“Jun—”  
   
“I need a moment.” Junhui bows at his father politely before practically dashing towards his room and locking himself in before any of his brothers could go after him.  
   
For the next two hours he bawls his eyes out then spends the rest of the evening  
   
***  
   
“Not gonna lie, Minghao's fiancé’s pretty hot.” Trust Wonwoo to always have something to say to ruin a quietly peaceful atmosphere. Their mother immediately agrees on this and starts babbling about the things she liked about Junhui and how he's such and adorable sweetheart and whatnot. Minghao looks out the window and forces himself to focus on the road.  
   
“Damn, I wish I was the eldest.” Wonwoo chuckles and crosses his legs, looking expectantly at Minghao for any sort of reaction. He gets nothing. The rest of the ride back home is spent in silence that was very much welcomed by Minghao since it gave him more time to think.  
   
He's not really thinking about much, just wide feline eyes, a perfectly pointed nose and sinfully beautiful lips. Wen Junhui, in less than a day, has somehow managed to impress him and is now occupying the rest of his thoughts without even doing anything but being such a coward about this whole ordeal.  
   
He stifles a grin.  
   
This is going to be _fun_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooooo! it's been a while sobs sobs..
> 
> i don't really have much to say except for thank you so much if you're still reading this and i do hope that though not much happened in this chapter you guys still find it okay :))
> 
> as usual, please let me know about your reactions and opinions in the comment section AND please be nice to me because i'm a really sensitive potato :"))
> 
> happy reading! <3

Junhui wakes up to the sound of a house maid gently knocking on his bedroom door and calling out for his name. He had been awake an hour ago courtesy of his alarm clock going off on the nightstand, but went back to sleep immediately after about five minutes of staring blankly at the ceiling.

 

“Your mother wants to see you after your breakfast. She's in the dining area.” She informs Junhui as he wordlessly digs into his meal which was served on a small tray. He gives the maid a small nod before continuing to stuff his mouth with bacons and eggs, blatantly disregarding eating etiquette for a bit.

 

His mind wanders off to last night's occurrences as he chews on some bread. He's completely unaware of the nasty frown on his face, which the maid did not comment on.

 

Junhui had finally met the man his parents want him to marry—he finally met his fiancé. Last night had been a mixture of emotions, most of them unpleasant and leaving him exhausted afterwards. His mind gives him an unsolicited flashback of when Minghao kissed the back off his hand goodbye, and it makes an indescribable feeling settle at the pit of his stomach. He shakes his head, willing the vivid memory to disappear.

 

After finishing his breakfast, the maid requests him to proceed to the dining room while she fixes his bed. For a moment he thought of offering help but backed out at the last second after being reminded of how his father reacted when he once saw his precious second son fixing his own bed with the maid just standing quietly next to him. The poor woman lost her job at the Wen household that day, all because Junhui wanted to be nice.

 

‘Good actions doesn't always elicit good reactions, Junnie’ he remembers Jeonghan telling him after he cried for a bit and blamed himself for causing a harmless housemaid to lose her job.

 

‘Especially in our world. Remember that.’

 

“Good morning, darling.” His mother beams at him through thick eyelash extensions and blood red lips. He smiles back and kisses her cheek in greeting before settling on the seat in front of her.

 

“Are you headed somewhere today, mom?” It's not that Junhui really cares, it's just that his mother is currently wearing a casual black dress instead of her usual corporate attire.

 

“Actually, _we_ are headed somewhere today, little flower.” She grins at her son before picking up her phone next to the cup of coffee she was nursing. Junhui curiously watches her as she scrolls through her phone while happily humming to herself. It's not an entirely unusual sight, but it's not so common either.

 

“We're going to get you a tux for your wedding!” She smiles at her son like she just told him something rather exciting that demanded a more enthusiastic reaction instead of Junhui's eyes widening like saucers. Ideally, it was indeed an exciting revelation, but the context is what makes everything different.

 

“Okay.” Junhui doesn't argue because he's sure that if his mother doesn't get what she wants, this is gonna reach their dad. Knowing the man’s short temper, he'd probably lash out at Junhui and the young lad’s not really in the mood to receive a scolding just because of refusing to buy clothes for his own anticipated wedding day.

 

He's engaged and getting married, and he can't quite wrap his head around the idea yet.He's probably gonna need a day or two to come into terms with the new fact, but it's not like either of his parents would ever agree. And as much as possible, he wants to stay out of more possible conflicts with his parents from today onwards. They're already too troubled with handling his rather aggressive and outspoken siblings, and he doesn't really want to add up into the constant mess in their whole relationship as a family.

 

***

 

An hour later, Junhui finds himself standing in front of a body-lengthed mirror, wearing a yellow tux that's a little bit too tight around the shoulders.

 

“It's a bit tight-“

 

“It looks great on you, dear!”

 

“Indeed ma'am, it does.” The staff immediately agrees with his mother, giving her the same generic-looking smile she's been giving them ever since they set foot in the boutique. When she looks at Junhui, however, there's this certain glint in her eyes that the boy interprets as attraction. It's quite evident in the way she hovers around him and with the unnecessary touches on his arms when she helped him put on the yellow coat.

 

It's not surprising for Junhui, but it does make him feel uncomfortable most times. Majority of the few people who've seen him outside the Wen mansion react in a similar way, ogling him like he's some otherworldly being gracing them with his presence.

 

Many envy his beauty, but he often sees it as a curse and a burden.

 

“It's a bit tight.” He raises his voice a bit to get his point across. Both women look at him before the staff chuckles nervously and helps him out of the coat. She recites a string of apologies to them before running off to the back of the shop to get a bigger size of the same coat.

 

“I told you we should've picked the pink one.” Seungkwan mutters, though they still heard it because the shop’s not that big and they're the only customers currently present. Junhui's younger brother had declared he was tagging along when he came to the kitchen earlier this morning and overheard his conversation with their mother.

 

“And make him look like some walking cotton candy? Absolutely not.” Their mother argues, placing her hands on her hips while staring daggers with Seungkwan. It's not something they often talk about within their family, but everyone could clearly see that out of the three siblings, Seungkwan resembles Mrs. Wen the most in terms of personality. However, whenever the topic is brought up, both people always give out the most exaggerated disgusted reactions. Talk about being petty.

 

“Well at least that's better than looking likea gigantic corn with arms and legs.” The youngest huffs with a roll of his eyes. Their mother glares at him, but she doesn't say anything in return. She promptly ignores her youngest son after a few seconds and busies herself with looking for more tuxes on the other side of the shop.

 

Junhui ends up trying out tuxedos in every color of the rainbow. He wanted to give up after the fourth tux, an emerald green one with an intricate black pattern embroidered at the ends of the sleeves, but then Seungkwan—with his ever energetically loud voice—said he looked like a ‘very sad and dejected plant’.

 

After another hour of debating about the color and design of Junhui's wedding tux, mostly by his mother and brother, they ended up picking a white one, and Junhui stopped himself from screeching and pulling his hair right then and there.

 

***

 

Glancing at his wristwatch, Junhui realizes they only spent two hours and thirty minutes in the boutique, but to him it felt like they were in there for a whole day. Time sure flies slower for him when he's being surrounded by two loudmouths constantly arguing whether he should look sexy or cute in his wedding day, not even once asking for his personal opinion.

 

After their purchase, the three make their way to the shop’s back door where a car’s waiting for them—guarded by three men in black suits.

 

Junhui sighs to himself. He gets that his parents are sometimes a little too overprotective of him and his siblings(it's mostly him though, but he hates acknowledging the inequality), but there are times where he wishes he could just live and act normally like other people, not having to keep his identity and whereabouts some sort of top secret that only a few ‘privileged’ could know.He doesn't want to be treated like some precious gem because he's _not_ a precious gem—he's just human, like everyone else. But he knows once he voices his inner thoughts out to his parents they'd either get upset with him or simply shrug off whatever he has to say.

 

The trip back to their mansion was spent in silence. The bodyguards sat motionless behind them, Seungkwan’s busy taking selfies on his phone despite the vehicle moving, their mother’s scrolling through one of those online magazines she's currently quite engrossed with, and Junhui's quietly staring out the window while thinking about everything and anything that comes to his mind.

 

“Oh, what's that?” Junhui perks up from his seat when his mother suddenly speaks peering out on her side of the window.

 

“A grey tesla, obviously.” Seungkwan rolls his eyes and directs his attention back to his phone, completely ignoring the sharp glare their mother sends his way.

 

“I wasn't aware we'd be having a visitor today.” She turns to look at the three bodyguards sitting behind them. All three confirmed that they were equally unaware as their car parks next to the tesla.

 

“Welcome home, ma’am, sirs.” A maid greets them with a polite bow and follows them to the main entrance. Before any of them could ask about their unexpected visitor, the double doors swing open and out comes a furious looking Jeonghan who looks like he's got some killing intent. Behind him are two other maids, desperately calling out for his name while chasing after him.

 

Aa soon as he spots Junhui just a few feet away from him, he immediately rushes to his younger brother and grips his shoulders tightly.

 

“You are not marrying that fucking ass.” He’s seething, and Junhui blinks at him in genuine shock and confusion.

 

“What-“

 

“I'm getting you out of this fucking mess, I swear-“

 

“Jeonghan! What on earth is going on!?” Their mother attempts to intervene, but Jeonghan doesn't even spare him a glance when he interrupts her.

 

“You're fucking selling him to some fucking bastard and ruining his whole life, that's what's fucking going on.” Their mother gasps at this, and if only Seungkwan wasn't gripping her arm tightly she could've launched herself to Jeonghan already.

 

“Excuse me!? How dare-“

 

“Mrs. Wen!” Junhui swears his neck almost snaps with how quickly he turns to look at the direction of the main entrance.

 

Standing by the threshold with a very mischievous grin on his lips, his fiancé's brother greets them enthusiastically while approaching them. Jeonghan and Seungkwan immediately react, pushing Junhui to stand behind them while they both glare at the second son of the Xu family. Wonwoo just laughs at this like what he's witnessing is just a mere scene from a random comedy show, but thankfully he doesn't attempt anything.

 

“Wonwoo! What a lovely surprise. What brings you here?” In an instant, their mother is already all over their unwanted visitor, grinning from ear to ear and showing absolute delight which was in great contrast to his sons. Just a moment ago, she was fuming mad. Now she's putting on one of her best smiles for their visitor as if nothing happened. The way she could change and fake her actions to ‘match’ the situations being laid out for her is often a big mystery for Junhui, since he didn't really inherit her talent for pretense.

 

“Nothing much, I was just passing by.” Wonwoo grins, shoving his hands in his pockets.

 

Passing by? Seriously? The Wen mansion is literally located in the city's outskirts, hidden from sight by large trees that tower over the whole area. And as far as Junhui's concerned, the Xu mansion is literally on the opposite side of the city.

 

The excuse alone was enough indication that Wonwoo came here alone for a totally different reason. It doesn't even take a genius to figure it out. But their mother still feigns acceptance of his lame excuse and even guides him back inside the house for ‘a nice cup of tea’.

 

“That's very nice of you, Mrs. Wen, but now that I'm here, I was kinda thinking about requesting to have a word with my brother’s fiancé in private-“

 

“Over my dead body.” Jeonghan growls.

 

“That's cute, but I'm not really in the mood to fight little does right now.” Wonwoo just winks at the eldest as if Jeonghan’s words held no weight for him despite the way he said it. Jeonghan clenches his fists at this.

 

“Of course you may!”

 

“Mom, what!?” Seungkwan exclaims, gripping Junhui’s wrist tightly and making him wince. He looks at his own mother as if she just sprouted two horns above her head, and was answered with the same sickeningly sweet smile she's been wearing ever since she saw Wonwoo.

 

“A little bonding time for the future brothers-in-law won't hurt, right?” She claps her hands together, and the siblings know that whenever she does that, her decision is final and arguing would be pointless and would much likely result to violence afterwards.

 

Lady Wen may just look like your typical crazy rich mom who loves hosting  grand parties and wearing expensive jewelry, but she's more than just her extravagant lifestyle. She could be quite evil when she wants to be.

 

“If that's the case I'm coming with Junhui.”

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

“That wasn't a request, mom-“

 

“Wen Jeonghan.” The eldest stares daggers with Mrs. Wen, and Wonwoo admits that he finds the unfolding scene quite amusing. But before things could escalate for the worse, Junhui sighs and steps forward, stopping two feet away from Wonwoo.

 

“I'll go with him.” He then turns to look at his brothers who're looking at him with shock, frustration and worry evident in their eyes. He gives them a tight-lipped smile and convinces himself that he's doing the right thing and he's gonna be fine.

 

“Wonderful.” Wonwoo smiles.

 

***

 

Jeonghan watches helplessly as Wonwoo’s tesla drives away, his little brother in the shotgun seat and possibly shaking like a leaf in fear. He grits his teeth and turns around to look at his mother in the eyes, disgust written all over his face.

 

“Why did you fucking do that?!” He asks, barely hanging on to his remaining composure. He keeps thinking of the look on Junhui's face when he went into the car. His little brother was obviously just putting on a tough act, and Jeonghan literally did nothing but watch.

 

“What do you mean? Clearly he wanted to bond-“

 

“He fucking wants Junhui.” Jeonghan tries his best not to exclaim the words. Seungkwan gasps next to him and looks back to the closed gates of their mansion, obviously regretting letting his older brother go with someone they barely know just like that.

 

“And not just in a brotherly way. The bastard told me himself. And you literally just sent your son off with him.” His mother looks at him as if she's trying to detect the lie in his words. But she knows all too well that Jeonghan is always honest and outspoken in situations like these, so the doubt doesn't last.

 

When she reacts, however, it wasn't the kind of reaction the brothers expected. She giggles to herself, the sound of it echoing throughout the walls of the quiet living room. Then with a sigh she tuts and looks out the window.

 

“How cute.”

 

Jeonghan almost loses it.

 

***

 

“W-where are you taking me?” Junhui asks nervously. It's been five minutes of driving through an empty road surrounded with nothing but big trees, and Junhui's already starting to feel uneasy in his seat. No one can blame him though, he's literally alone in a car with a dangerous man.

 

“To a date.”

 

“What?” Junhui looks at his companion with a dumbfounded expression, and he must've looked so stupid that Wonwoo's laughing out loud. He lowers his head in embarrassment.

 

“You should've seen your face!” He laughs some more, the sound of it highly similar to those madmen from the movies Junhui's watched with his brothers back when they were younger. The unintentional comparison makes him feel more uneasy, and he struggles to come up with the best response.

 

“I-I-“

 

“Relax, princess.” Junhui gasps when Wonwoo suddenly grabs his hand and laces their fingers together. He tries pulling his hand back but the other male’s grip was firm. When Wonwoo smirks at him, he knows it's because of how hard his hand’s shaking under his hold.

 

“Stop making that face, it's turning me on.” Junhui's heart skips a beat, and it's not really pleasant.

 

“What-“

 

“Come on, I was joking!” Wonwoo laughs again in that same manic manner, and Junhui couldn't bring himself to laugh along because first of all, the joke didn't really fit his personal criteria of ‘funny’ and second, call him rude but he's a bit convinced that this man next to him has a few screws loose.

 

“Where are you taking me?” Junhui asks again, for the sake of a topic change. Wonwoo looks at him for a moment before focusing on the road again.

 

“Hyung’s evil lair.” He answers.

 

Junhui doesn't know what to say to that, so he-

 

“HOLY SHIT!” Junhui lets out the most embarrassingly loud scream in his entire life when Wonwoo suddenly hits the brakes and twists the steering wheel swiftly to the left, causing the tires of the car to screech loudly against the asphalt before coming to an abrupt halt.

 

He feels like crying and screaming at the same time, hot tears starting to build in his eyes and threatening to spill any moment soon. He grits his teeth and keeps it all in despite the salad of unpleasant emotions inside him, because now’s not the time to be the crybaby that he is.

 

He shouldn't have agreed to all of this, he should've ran into his room and locked himself in the closet or hide under the bed, as cowardly as that sounds. He didn't ask for any of this for crying out loud.

 

“Are you okay?” Junhui wants to laugh sarcastically at Wonwoo's question and give him a piece of his mind, but whatever angry words he was about to spit out at the other male died in his mouth as soon as he sees what's ahead of them. Noticing his lack of response and attention, Wonwoo looks at where he's looking as well.

 

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” He huffs and rolls his eyes.

 

There's a black lamborghini parked in the middle of the narrow road, and Junhui's fiancé is leaning against it, staring intently at Wonwoo's car.

 

Junhui gulps, utterly dumbfounded by the current situation. It feels like he's in a movie scene, but it's not really cool and exhilarating because he feels like he's about to lose his sanity with how intensely Minghao's glaring at them through the tinted windshield.

 

His fiancé starts walking towards Wonwoo's side of the car, and with an annoyed groan the younger Xu rolls his window down. Minghao's eyes immediately land on Junhui’s hand, which Wonwoo unconsciously held on his own when he asked Junhui if he's okay.

 

“You put a fucking tracker in my car, didn't you?” Wonwoo seethes, but Minghao doesn't even spare him a glance. Instead, he lifts his gaze to meet Junhui's, and the other male immediately looks away because the look in his fiancé's eyes had him flinching in fear. It was dangerous, to say the least. And though Junhui knows he didn't do anything wrong to Minghao in particular, a guilty feeling suddenly settles in his gut.

 

“Step out of the fucking car.” Minghao commands.

 

 


End file.
